Legal Research

Legal Challenge to 2007 Oregon Censorship Law

Oregonlive 4/29/08, story, by Ashbel S. Green, Suit filed to throw out law meant to shield kids:

Excerpt ?A group of book stores, health groups and civil liberties advocates has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to overturn an Oregon law aimed at keeping sexually explicit materials from children.

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Portland claims that the Oregon law, which went into effect Jan. 1, violates the First Amendment because its broad language covers legal materials such as Judy Blume books and sex education materials?.? (full Oregonlive story).

From BoleyBlogs, Law in the News, Publishers Fight Oregon Censorship Statute, by Lynn Andriani -- Publishers Weekly, 4/29/2008, which includes a link to the ACLU story about the lawsuit (and includes the legal documents, including the complaint filed in U.S. District Court, District of Oregon):

?The Association of American Publishers is fighting censorship in Oregon. Yesterday it joined with six Oregon booksellers and the ACLU of Oregon to challenge a new Oregon law that criminalizes the dissemination of sexually explicit material to anyone under age 13, or the dissemination to anyone under age 18 of any material with the intent to sexually arouse the recipient or the provider. The new statute, which makes no provision for judging the material as a whole, nor for considering its serious literary, artistic or scientific value, went into effect January 1?. (full Publishers Weekly story).

Legislative information:

The Oregon House Bill (HB 2843) :Relating to crime; creating new provisions; amending ORS 131.125, 131.602, 161.005, 166.715, 166.725,167.062 and 342.143; and repealing ORS 167.065, 167.070, 167.087 and 167.089.

Legislative Staff Measure Summaries.

Case name (filed in U.S. District Court - Oregon):

POWELL'S BOOKS, INC.; OLD MULTNOMAH BOOK STORE, LTD. d/b/a ANNIE BLOOM'S BOOKS; DARK HORSE COMICS, INC.; COLETTE'S: GOOD FOOD +HUNGRY MINDS, LLC; BLUEJAY, INC. d/b/a PAULINA SPRINGS BOOKS; ST. JOHNS BOOKSELLERS, LLC; TWENTY-THIRD AVENUE BOOKS; AMERICAN BOOKSELLERS FOUNDATION FOR FREE EXPRESSION; ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN PUBLISHERS, INC.; FREEDOM TO READ FOUNDATION INC.; COMIC BOOK LEGAL DEFENSE FUND; CANDACE MORGAN; PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF THE COLUMBIA / WILLAMETTE, INC.;

v.

Hardy Myers, in his official capacity as ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF OREGON; et al

Full post as published by Oregon Legal Research on April 30, 2008 (boomark / email).